The Alpha King's Princess
The Alpha King’s Princess – Chapter 29

I watched the investigation develop for an hour before it was clear that everything else would have to come from the autopsy reports. They found a total of thirty bodies. There were signs of a struggle, but none of the victims were vampires. Whether that was because vampires really turned into ash when they were killed or if they just escaped with their wounded, I couldn’t know. Every victim was drained of b***d, but their wounds didn’t make complete sense.

Some of them had neat puncture wounds. Others looked like they had their throats torn out by a wild animal that also drank their b***d. Aside from how they died, who the victims were and how they died would tell me a lot. For now, all I could tell was that there were at least two attackers. Based on the attack styles, it was possible that there was more than one kind of vampire out there.

The more I looked, the more I felt like the quick message I sent to Armageddon had been more like a pre-brief. He didn’t reply to me, but I didn’t need him to.

By the time I realized that I had fallen asleep at my laptop, my alarm was going off, waking me for the weekend. I winced, hoping that Armageddon hadn’t shut off my access. Though he would be able to see that I hadn’t been active, he’d probably scold me for not logging out.

There was a single message from him, though I could tell that he had looked over the notes I was making in the system and the folder I had built for him.

Next time log out. Good work.

I wrinkled my nose and logged out of my access before stretching for the day. I was still a little tired, but I really needed to get out and train. I needed some distance from the investigation and everything else going on in my life. most of all, I hoped that Candido would be at breakfast so that maybe I wouldn’t have to feel like Sibyl was winning. I got dressed to go work out and headed downstairs. Claire was at the table, humming with glee as she ate French Toast. Allen was there, reading the paper, though his eyes seemed troubled. On the front page was an article about the murders that had happened several weeks ago. It looked like they hadn’t given the press much more than a blanket statement.

I didn’t know if that was Moon Shadow’s work or Candido’s, but it was good thing either way.

It looked like the police were keeping the murders quiet. I looked around.

“Morning, Hedy!” Claire said, beaming at me.

I sat down and pulled up to the table. “I’m surprised you’re here…”

“I was bribed with French Toast to come home,” she grinned. “Dad wants to spend the day with me. What are you going to be up to?”

“Training.”

Her eyes widened. “Is this about the rugby team? You want me to come with you.”

Allen scoffed. “Once upon a time, you would have never ditched me.”

Claire stuck out her tongue. “I’m not five anymore.”

“I’ll be fine.” I said and served myself some bacon and a small stack of French Toast. “Where’s Candido?”

Allen glanced at me. “His Majesty is out with Miss Sibyl. He should be gone for several hours.”

I set my jaw and choked down breakfast. Claire must have sensed my change in mood because she didn’t say much else to me. I finished eating quickly. I headed back upstairs in silence and tried to shake off my worries. I checked on the Moon Shadow installation again and found it was complete. I checked it to be sure and logged out again. There were no other messages from Armageddon.

I wondered if Armageddon had a mate or if we knew each other somehow. He always seemed older than me but still pretty young. He welcomed me pretty quickly and allowed me to climb up the ranks. I wasn’t entirely sure how he’d found me or how Moon Shadow had known that I would be interested in joining the cause, but I was grateful. Having Moon Shadow had pushed me to push away the trauma and doubts that I had from growing up in the Wolf Fang Pack.

No one could call me stupid or useless or unwanted when I did so much work. My lips twitched thinking to the first case I’d cracked that had led to capturing a vampire and the group of werewolves they’d been working with. Armageddon and the rest of Moon Shadow never treated me like a naïve girl.

It made me wish more and more that I could tell Candido about my involvement with Moon Shadow. I bet he’d have a very different view of me if he knew everything I did. I closed my laptop and stowed it away, taking a deep breath.

The same way that I cracked cases and kept Moon Shadow running smoothly, I could get Sibyl out of Candido’s life and ensure the future of the Full Moon Pack. I glanced over at the vampire book and shook my head. As I tied my hair up, I tried to clear my mind of Candido and Moon Shadow.

I needed to focus on my training to get this weight off and petition for reconsideration. I stopped in front of the mirror, considering my reflection. Had I lost a little weight? Was it too soon to tell?

Would any of this help do anything but take my mind off things for a little while? I didn’t know, but I turned and exited my room with a single-minded determination to make my training session today a good one. I’d be fine with Candido. Though I wanted to spend time with him, the situation with Sibyl was out of my control for now.

I would be all right and after I had finished my workout, I’d go into the city. Usually, I’d go out with Claire, but I needed to start getting used to doing things on my own. Wasn’t that part of why Candido always called me a little girl? I didn’t tend to want to go anywhere without Claire or Candido. Maybe I was afraid of the Wolf Fang Pack members snatching me off the street. Maybe I was just so used to having them near that the world felt foreign without them.

Whatever it was, I had to stop it. I had to bring some of the strength and confidence I have as Pandora into my life as Hedy. It was the only way I was going to change my image at school and get deeper into the social world. The more I thought about it, the more resolved I was to not falter on my training no matter how many training sessions Candido missed with me.

I had to get this weight off to get onto the rugby team.

I wanted to get the weight off because it could hinder me in so much.

Maybe I had never consciously felt bad about my weight because I always had Candido and Claire there to tell me that I was fine the way I was, but in the back of my mind, I think I was always bothered and just avoiding it.

My eyes burned with tears, but I couldn’t say exactly why I was crying.

Fat. Ugly. Pudgy. Worthless. Useless.

I shuddered and turned from my reflection.

“I’m not worthless,” I said. “I’m not useless.”

And soon, I wouldn’t be fat, ugly, or pudgy.

When I exited my room, I heard no one, but a sense of hyper-awareness started to rise in me. Heat pooled in my stomach, and my mouth went dry. My heart raced as I hurried down the stairs, worrying my l*p and trying to keep my pace even. The closer I got to the back door, the more aware I felt. I heard Candido’s heartbeat. I could smell his cologne.

It had to be Candido. There was no one else I had this sort of reaction to, and there was no one else who could excite me like this.

As I reached the back door, I felt his presence, but I didn’t see him. He was near. I opened the door and walked out. He wasn’t on the terrace, yet I felt him.

Slowly, I turned and found him dressed for a run, leaning against the wall beside the door. I stared at him, watching the moonlight surface in his eyes as he cracked a smile.

“Good,” he said and pushed off the wall. “Your sense of situational awareness is improving.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Allen said… you were on a date.”

Candido turned to the short steps that led out into the forest. “I figure we can go a little farther today. I’m not taking it easy on you today, little girl. So, try to keep up.”

He turned back and I thought back to my daydream. He gave me a devilish smile before turning back to the forest and taking off into the forest.